973.7L33 
FM193L 


McKelvie,  Samuel  toy. 

Lincoln  night: 
Middlesex  Club, ^Boston, 

February  12,  1923. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


LINCOLN  NIGHT 

Middlesex  Club 
Boston 

February  12 
1923 


ADDRESSES 


BY 


Hon.  SAMUEL  ROYMcKELVIE 

Rev.  MAXWELL  SAVAGE 

Maj.  Gen.  ANDRE  BREWSTER,  U.  S.  A 


The  Middlesex  Club,  True  to  the  Faith  of  Washington, 
Holds  fast  the  Principles  of  Lincoln,  Grant,  and  Roosevelt 


PRINTED    BY    THE    CLUB 
1923 


OFFICERS 

OF   THE 

MIDDLESEX  CLUB 

1922-1923 


PRESIDENT 

LOUIS  A.  COOLIDGE 

VICE-PRESIDENTS 

Calvin  Coolidge  Samuel  L.  Powers 

Henry  Cabot  Lodge  John  W.  Weeks 

John  L.  Bates 

SECRETARY  ASST.  SECRETARY 

Benjamin  F.  Felt  Walter  R.  Meins 

TREASURER 

Charles  H.  Ramsay 

EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE 

Charles  S.  Proctor,  Chairman 
A.  S.  Apsey 

Gaspar  G.  Bacon 
James  E.  Baker 

Charles  G.  Bancroft 

Herbert  E.  Fletcher 
Charles  T.  Cottrell 
Joseph  W.  Gerry 

Sidney  M.  Hedges 

Charles  H.  Innes 

Charles  E.  Fay 

Edward  C.  Mansfield 
Lincoln  R.  Welch 

John  Jacob  Rogers 
Paul  S.  Burns 

Seward  W.  Jones 

George  H.  Doty 

Frank  W.  Stearns 

Edward  E.  Jameson 

Joseph  B.  Jamieson 


'   fsl 


ADDRESSES 

BY 

HON.  SAMUEL  ROY  McKELVIE, 

REV.  MAXWELL  SAVAGE, 

AND  MAJ.  GEN.  ANDRE  BREWSTER 

BEFORE  THE  MIDDLESEX  CLUB,  "LINCOLN  NIGHT,"  AT 

HOTEL  SOMERSET,    BOSTON,  MASSACHUSETTS 

MONDAY  EVENING,  FEBRUARY   12,   1923 

LOUIS   A.   COOLIDGE,  "President 

Samuel  L.  Powers,  Toastmaster 


Toastm aster  POWERS.  Gentlemen,  and  guests  of  the 
Middlesex  Club: 

I  regret  as  you  do  the  absence  of  our  president  to-day,  who  is 
detained  in  Washington  by  reason  of  illness.  I  understand  that 
his  illness  is  not  of  a  serious  nature,  and  that  he  hopes  to  be  back 
in  Boston  within  a  few  days.  I  am  going  to  ask  you  all  to  rise 
and  drink  to  the  speedy  recovery  of  our  distinguished  president. 
[The  members  and  guests  rise  and  drink  the  toast, — but  in  water.] 

Toastmaster  POWERS.  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me, 
gentlemen,  that  we  could  have  made  no  greater  sacrifice  to  Louis 
than  to  have  drunk  what  we  have.  [Laughter.]  I  never  ex- 
pected that  this  job  would  ever  come  back  to  me  again.  I  had 
it  I  think  for  thirteen  years,  when  it  descended  by  right  of  in- 
heritance to  Mr.  Coolidge.  I  don't,  however,  very  often  get 
into  the  limelight  these  days.  I  never  get  into  the  public  lime- 
light unless  some  misfortune  happens  to  someone  else. 
[Laughter.]  I  play  on  the  second  team,  and  when  someone  is 
injured  on  the  first  team  I  get  called  in  from  the  side  lines. 
[Laughter.]     That  is  the  situation  to-night. 

(3) 


I  remember  the  old  days  of  this  Club  when  I  first  joined  it, 
and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  very  men  that  belonged  to  it  then 
are  with  us  to-night.  And  what  is  best  of  all,  you  don't  grow 
old.  I  have  an  idea  that  the  adoption  of  a  recent  amendment 
to  the  Constitution  [cries  of  "Hear!  Hear!"]  is  prolonging  your 
lives.  [Laughter.]  You  remember  that  old  skit  that  Charlie 
Hoyt  had  in  his  play  when  one  actor  asked  another  actor  on  the 
stage  whether  married  men  live  longer  than  single  men,  and  he 
replied:  "No,  but  it  seems  longer."     [Laughter.] 

Now  I  don't  doubt  life  may  seem  longer  to  you  by  reason  of 
the  discipline  that  you  have  now  been  placed  under.  I  want  to 
assure  all  you  members  of  the  Middlesex  Club  that  you  will  get 
used  to  it  after  a  time  and  you  will  be  far  happier  than  ever 
before.     I  speak  from  experience.     [Laughter.] 

We  have  here  at  the  head  table  to-night  a  very  distinguished 
galaxy  of  distinguished  men.  I  noticed  at  one  of  these  dinners 
not  long  since  that  Mr.  Coolidge  took  occasion  to  introduce  them 
to  you,  telling  you  who  they  were.  It  is  enough,  perhaps,  that  I 
say  to  you  that  we  have  with  us  to-night  all  the  important  State 
officers  of  the  Commonwealth.  Of  course  the  Governor  is  not 
here,  nor  the  Lieutenant-Governor  [laughter],  but  they  are  mere 
figureheads  at  most.  The  real  active  working  force  of  the 
Commonwealth  honors  the  head  table  to-night.  We  have  here 
the  new  Attorney-General,  and  the  old  Attorney-General.  I 
asked  "General"  Allen  to-night  if  he  was  quite  sure  that  his 
authority  had  ceased.  [Laughter.]  He  assured  me  that  he 
could  not  do  us  any  harm,  and  that  we  are  absolutely  safe,  even 
in  his  presence.  [Laughter.]  As  to  the  new  Attorney- General, 
we  have  not  tried  him  out  yet,  but  I  imagine  that  he  is  a  safer 
man  than  the  old  one.     [Prolonged  laughter  and  applause.] 

Then  we  have  with  us  the  Treasurer  and  Receiver  General, 
whatever  that  may  mean,  of  the  Commonwealth.  I  don't  know 
whether  he  is  the  man  who  collects  the  taxes  or  not.  If  he  is 
collecting  the  taxes,  he  is  doing  a  big  job,  because  he  is  collecting 
more  than  we  are  able  to  pay.  [Laughter.]  We  also  have  the 
Secretary  of  State.  I  saw  him  the  other  night  at  the  Clover 
Club.  He  made  a  good  speech,  but  I  could  not  see  any  reason 
why  the  Secretary  of  State  should  have  to  make  speeches  for  the 
Governor.     He  made  an  excellent  speech  there,  and  was  intro- 

(4) 


duced  well,  I  will  not  say  how  he  was  introduced.  I  think  he 
was  introduced  as  the  King  of  Somerville,  or  something  of  that 
kind. 

To-night  we  have  upon  the  list,  as  you  have  noticed,  but  two 
speakers.  I  am  going  to  reserve  the  right  after  we  have  heard 
those  two  speakers,  if  we  are  not  satisfied  with  the  way  they 
have  spoken  and  what  they  have  said,  to  call  upon  others,  possibly 
from  the  floor,  so  that  you  will  have  whatever  speaking  you 
want.      [Laughter.] 

I  remember  in  the  old  days  we  used  to  try  to  adjourn  this  Club 
at  ten  o'clock,  and  in  order  that  there  might  be  a  reunion  outside 
[laughter],  usually  on  the  ground  floor.  It  looks,  however,  as 
though  we  would  get  through  to-night  before  ten  o'clock,  but  I 
doubt  if  there  is  any  reunion. 

The  first  speaker  on  the  program  comes  from  that  great 
Western  country  beyond  the  Mississippi  which  has  been  settled 
more  or  less  by  people  from  New  England,  has  been  developed 
more  or  less  by  capital  from  the  East.  When  I  met  the  Governor 
from  Nebraska,  I  was  a  little  surprised.  I  had  expected  to  see 
a  man  about  seventy  years  old,  or  more,  with  rather  long 
whiskers  [laughter],  turning  gray,  and  representing  some  of  the 
earlier  statesmen  that  I  had  met  from  his  State.  Instead  of  that, 
this  young  man  who  does  not  look  over  twenty-seven  years  of 
age  [laughter],  who  had  served  his  State  with  conspicuous 
ability  during  two  terms,  has  now  retired  preparatory  to  going 
to  the  Senate  if  he  yields  to  the  wishes  of  the  people  of  Nebraska 
[laughter],  and  he  looks  young.  I  want  to  say  to  the  Governor 
that  a  man  of  his  age  cannot  get  beyond  the  Common  Council  in 
Massachusetts.  [Laughter.]  Some  of  the  oldest  men  whom 
you  see  before  you  to-night  have  not  got  started  yet.  But  I  want 
to  say  to  the  Governor  that  we  are  glad  to  see  him  in  Boston.  He 
tells  me  that  he  is  not  a  politician,  but  that  he  is  a  farmer.  Well, 
I  have  always  been  a  farmer,  I  have  a  farm  to-day  in  New 
Hampshire,  and  I  have  always  wished  that  I  had  lived  on  that 
farm  instead  of  coming  down  here  and  wasting  my  time  in  Mass- 
achusetts. [Laughter.]  But,  to  be  a  farmer  in  Massachusetts 
and  to  be  a  Governor  is  something  that  we  have  never  heard  of. 
I  think  our  treasurer  here  is  a  farmer,  and  some  say  he  is  going 
to  be  the  governor.  But  he  will  be  the  first  farmer  who  ever 
has  been  governor  in  Massachusetts.     [Laughter.] 

(5) 


We  are  all  pleased  to  have  the  Governor  here  to-night.  I  have 
not  the  slightest  idea  of  what  he  is  going  to  talk  on,  outside  of 
talking  on  Lincoln.  He  comes  from  the  West  where  Lincoln 
was  born,  and  where  he  was  reared  in  that  great  State  of  Illinois. 
I  once  heard  Uncle  Joe  Cannon  say  that  when  he  went  to  Illinois 
it  was  still  a  territory.  States  grow  fast.  Think  of  the  State  of 
Nebraska,  a  tremendous  State,  almost  an  empire  in  itself,  with 
a  great  population,  and  a  State  that  sooner  or  later  will  be  one 
of  commanding  influence  in  the  country.  And  so  I  want  to  say 
to  you,  Governor,  that  you  are  to-night  in  the  home  of  your 
friends,  and  if  you  ever  get  tired  of  Nebraska  we  will  give  you  a 
farm  in  Massachusetts,  if  you  will  only  come  and  live  with  us. 
[Laughter.]  Treasurer  Jackson  says  he  is  prepared  to  give  up 
his  farm.  I  imagine  that  he  is  not  getting  the  income  out  of  it 
that  he  expected,  or  else  the  income  is  so  large  that  it  makes  his 
taxes  unwieldy. 

I  remember  a  few  years  ago  when  Mr.  William  M.  Evarts 
established  a  stock  farm  up  in  Windsor,  Vermont,  near  where  I 
was  born,  and  after  he  had  run  it  a  few  years  he  found  the 
income  would  hardly  keep  pace  with  the  outgo.  He  was  serving 
a  supper  to  some  of  his  New  York  friends  and  he  served  milk 
and  champagne.  And  he  said :  "Ladies  and  gentlemen,  take  your 
choice,  they  cost  me  just  the  same."     [Laughter.] 

I  take  pleasure  now  in  presenting  to  you  Governor — I  shall 
not  put  any  "ex"  on  it — Governor  McKelvie  of  Nebraska. 
[Applause.] 

Honorable  SAMUEL  ROY  McKELVIE 

Mr.    Toastmaster,    Members    of    the    Middlesex    Club,    Fellow 
Republicans: 

As  your  toastmaster  was  proceeding  with  his  remarks  bearing 
upon  his  observations  of  myself,  I  was  reminded  of  one  of  the 
first  experiences  I  had  after  I  was  elected  Governor  of  Nebraska. 
The  second  day  after  the  election  I  left  the  State  in  order  that 
the  faithful  might  have  time  to  get  themselves  together  and  de- 
cide on  the  places  that  they  would  prefer.  [Laughter.]  And  I 
stopped  first  at  Chicago.  I  went  there  to  the  Club  where  I  was 
accustomed  to  stop.  It  was  on  the  premature  celebration  of  the 
Armistice.    I  met  there  my  old  friend,  Senator  Sam  Aronel,  and 

(6) 


he  was  even  more  pleased  over  my  achievement  than  I  was 
myself.  And  he  was  introducing  me  to  all  his  friends  at  the 
Club. 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  we  saw  a  man  there  who  Sam 
explained  to  me  was  Bill  Simpson.  He  said,  "Bill  has  an  only 
daughter.  She  is  married  and  her  husband  is  in  France  and 
Bill  has  been  saying  that  no  sooner  will  the  whistle  begin  to 
blow  than  he  will  stage  an  old-fashioned  celebration."  And  I 
guess  he  had  done  it.  That  evening  I  came  in  and  found  him 
there  somewhat  unsteady  on  his  feet,  and  Sam  joined  me  and 
said,  "I  want  you  to  meet  Bill."  I  said  I  would  be  happy  to  and 
he  called  him,  saying,  "Bill,  this  is  Sam  McKelvie,  just  been 
elected  Governor  of  Nebraska."  Bill  said,  "What?"  Sam  said, 
"This  is  Sam  McKelvie,  just  elected  Governor  of  Nebraska." 
Bill  said,  "Well,  I  may  be  drunk,  but  I  am  not  that  damned 
drunk."  [Loud  laughter.]  And  if  I  could  see  Bill  to-day  I 
would  have  to  remind  him  that  after  these  four  years  I  am  sure 
that  he  is  not  alone  in  the  determination. 

I  heard  a  definition  of  an  after-dinner  speaker  the  other  day. 
An  after-dinner  speaker  is  one  who  is  willing  to  sacrifice  you  for 
his  country.  [Laughter.]  I  hope  not  to  do  that  this  evening, 
for  I  do  feel  that  I  am  among  friends.  I  feel  at  home  in  Boston, 
though  it  is  rather  a  far  cry  from  here  to  the  Middle  West. 
When  we  think  of  Boston  and  of  Massachusetts,  we  think  of  the 
Pilgrims.  I  regret  that  I  cannot  trace  my  ancestry  to  that  noble 
lineage,  but  I  feel  that  I  am  the  descendant  of  Pilgrims  neverthe- 
less. The  visions,  the  ideals,  the  hopes,  the  aspirations  of  the 
Pilgrims  were  those  of  the  pioneer.  It  was  this  that  gave  them 
courage  to  undertake  the  hardships  of  settling  in  this  new  land, 
and  so  it  was  of  the  pioneers  who  followed  the  star  of  the  empire 
west,  across  the  Alleghenies  and  ever  westward  until  they  came 
to  the  broad  and  fertile  prairies  of  Nebraska.  They  were  Pil- 
grims, too,  and  the  imprint  of  the  hand  of  the  Pilgrims  marked 
their  achievements  no  less  than  do  the  acts  and  deeds  of  the 
Pilgrims  who  wended  their  way  westward  from  Leyden.  So,  in 
that  sentiment  we  feel  a  bond  of  union.  We  feel  that  there  is 
no  place  for  sectionalism  in  this  country.  We  feel  the  common 
responsibilities  of  citizenship.  We  pledge  ourselves  alike  in  en- 
during faith  to  the  course  which  was  marked  out  by  our  fathers. 

(?) 


As  we  assemble  this  evening  we  come  together  to  worship  at 
the  shrine  of  the  memory  of  the  greatest  American,  and  to  re- 
affirm our  allegiance  to  the  principles  of  the  political  party  of 
which  he  was  the  first  distinguished  leader.  In  doing  this  we 
must  of  necessity  recognize  the  profound  principles  of  American- 
ism. Boston  is  recognized  as  the  Cradle  of  Liberty,  and  the 
Middlesex  Club  is  recognized  for  its  traditional  Americanism. 
And  if  you  will  permit  me,  I  desire  to  refer  to  some  notes  that  I 
have  made, — not  that  I  am  afraid  of  being  misquoted,  for  I 
think  I  should  profit  by  that,  perhaps,  but  that  I  am  rather  hard 
up  for  terminal  facilities;  and  I  was  advised  by  Mr.  Louis 
Coolidge  before  I  came  of  the  time  that  I  should  occupy  upon 
this  program,  and  so  also  I  recognize  the  distinguished  gentlemen 
and  able  orators  who  are  to  follow  me. 

I  believe  this  to  be  true  that,  as  those  of  each  succeeding 
generation  are  farther  removed  from  the  guiding  events  that 
surrounded  our  early  American  history,  there  is  a  growing  mis- 
understanding of  the  principles  that  underlie  the  Republic.  This 
prompts  me  to  recall  the  simple  truths  that  surrounded  the  life 
of  Abraham  Lincoln.  As  I  proceed  to  this  pleasant  duty,  I  must 
demur  against  being  regarded  as  an  idealist  though  promptly 
admitting  that  I  am  a  profound  believer  in  ideals.  The  difference 
between  the  two,  as  I  see  it,  is  that  the  one  would  progress  by 
principles  that  are  proven,  while  the  other  is  the  advocate  of 
untried  theories. 

It  would  be  futile  for  me  to  attempt  adequately  to  eulogize 
the  acts  and  deeds  of  him  who  served  the  nation  in  the  hour  of 
its  only  serious  internal  crisis.  This  has  been  done  so  oft  and 
well  by  those  of  readier  expression  than  I,  that  the  simple  truths 
regarding  his  life  are  upon  the  lips  of  children.  The  place  of 
his  lowly  birth,  the  noble  mother  who  bore  him,  the  struggles  of 
his  childhood,  the  meager  education  that  he  obtained,  the  toilsome 
labor  that  marked  his  youth  and  early  manhood,  his  determination 
to  surmount  obstacles,  his  striking  personality,  his  wisdom  as  an 
advocate  and  his  ability  in  debate,  his  readiness  of  wit  and  ap- 
preciation of  humor,  his  simplicity  of  character  and  of  speech, 
his  courage  to  meet  the  most  difficult  of  situations,  his  charity 
toward  others,  including  even  those  who  opposed  him,  his  tender- 
ness of  heart  for  those  in  trouble,  his  unmeasured  service  to  the 

(8) 


nation,  his  prophetic  vision,  his  adherence  to  the  Constitution, 
and  his  belief  in  Almighty  God,  these  and  many  more  were  the 
qualities  that  endeared  him  to  the  nation  and  wrote  his  name 
highest  upon  the  scroll  of  fame. 

I  have  a  love  for  the  memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln  that  is  kin 
to  that  of  my  Maker.  I  regard  him  as  the  Ideal  American,  but  I 
would  not  place  a  construction  upon  the  works  of  his  life  that 
would  be  intended  merely  to  prove  a  point  in  which  I  believe. 
My  purpose  in  discussing  the  things  for  which  Lincoln  stood  is 
to  apply  them  to  some  of  the  problems  that  are  pressing  for 
solution  now,  for  I  believe  that  he  more  nearly  than  anyone  else 
in  the  nation's  history  divined  the  principles  of  true  Americanism, 
not  only  to  advocate  them  but  to  give  them  practical  expression. 

The  first  American  ideal  is  a  belief  in  Almighty  God.  This 
is  the  spirit  that  encouraged  the  Pilgrims  of  the  Mayflower  to 
undertake  their  perilous  voyage  upon  an  uncertain  sea.  Under 
His  guidance  these  seekers  after  the  Truth  were  brought  se- 
curely into  port,  and  they  sowed  here  the  seeds  from  which  this 
Republic  sprung.  Since  then  there  has  run  all  through  our  his- 
tory like  a  golden  thread  a  deeply  religious  vein.  Nor  has  the 
nation  ever  had  a  great  leader  who  was  not  inspired  by  this 
sublime  faith. 

That  the  immortal  Lincoln  was  guided  in  his  progress  by 
Christian  ideals  is  abundantly  proven.  In  asserting  his  belief 
that  God  created  man  to  be  a  free  agent,  he  said :  "Freedom  is  the 
natural  condition  of  the  human  race  in  which  the  Almighty 
intended  man  to  live.  Those  who  fight  the  purpose  of  the  Al- 
mighty will  not  succeed.  They  always  have  been,  they  always 
will  be,  beaten." 

During  the  period  of  the  nation's  greatest  internal  peril  it 
would  seem  that  the  leadership  of  Lincoln  was  inspired.  To 
the  question  of  what  would  happen  if,  in  the  first  encounter 
between  the  steel  armoured  vessels,  the  Monitor  and  the  Mer- 
rimac,  the  latter  should  emerge  victorious,  Lincoln  promptly 
replied :  "I  do  not  fear,  for  this  is  God's  fight  and  He  will  win  it 
in  His  own  good  time.  He  will  take  care  that  our  enemies  do 
not  push  us  too  far."  Such  a  sublime  faith !  Can  you  not 
believe  with  me  that  this  is  the  force  that  guided  him  safely 
through  all  of  those  perilous  days  of  the  Civil  War? 

(9) 


In  his  charity  of  spirit  and  loving  kindness,  it  appears  that 
Lincoln  was  supremely  endowed.  Note  the  final  words  in  his 
inaugural  message:  "I  am  loath  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies, 
but  friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may 
have  strained  it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of  affection.  The 
mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every  battlefield  and 
patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this 
broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when  again 
touched,  as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our 
nature."  Finally,  when  the  war  was  over  and  it  became  a  ques- 
tion of  what  his  attitude  would  be  towards  the  people  of  the 
South,  he  said:  "I  shall  treat  them  as  though  they  had  not  been 
away." 

The  nation  needs  a  revival  of  that  glorious  spirit  to-day.  We 
are  being  consumed  by  selfishness.  We  do  not  understand  our 
fellows,  for  we  will  not  permit  the  governing  spirit  of  Him  "Who 
doeth  all  things  well"  to  enter  the  councils  of  our  affairs.  The 
guiding  star  of  the  nation's  destiny  always  has  been,  always  will 
be,  the  precepts  that  were  given  from  the  Mount.  Until  we 
understand  those  principles  to  apply  them,  we  shall  be  plagued  by 
the  twin  evils  of  hate  and  greed. 

Next  to  Divine  Guidance  as  an  American  ideal  is  a  belief  in 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  I  shall  always  hold  that 
that  immortal  document  was  inspired  of  God.  When  the  Re- 
public was  born,  it  was  His  hand  stretched  across  the  labors 
of  the  founding  fathers  that  brought  the  event  to  a  successful 
issue.  May  I  not  remind  you  that,  after  the  Constitutional 
Convention  had  been  in  session  for  five  weeks  and  the  repre- 
sentatives assembled  there,  patriotic  and  well-meaning  as  they 
were,  had  been  unable  to  meet  upon  a  common  ground,  Benjamin 
Franklin  arose  and  addressed  the  chair  with  these  words : 

"I  have  lived,  Sir,  a  long  time  and  the  longer  I  live, 
the  more  convincing  proofs  I  see  of  this  truth,  that 
God  governs  in  the  affairs  of  men.  And  if  a  sparrow 
cannot  fall  to  the  ground  without  His  notice,  is  it 
probable  that  an  empire  can  rise  without  His  aid  ?  We 
have  been  assured,  Sir,  in  the  sacred  writings,  that 
'except  the  Lord  build  the  house  they  labor  in  vain  that 
build  it'." 

(10) 


Upon  this  belief,  they  repaired  to  their  labors  and  the  greatest 
human  document  of  all  history  was  born.  In  closing  his  address 
to  the  Convention,  George  Washington  said:  "Let  us  raise  a 
standard  to  which  the  wise  and  honest  can  repair.  The  event 
is  in  the  hands  of  God." 

Hamilton  was  the  greatest  advocate  of  the  Constitution,  Mar- 
shall the  ablest  interpreter  of  it,  but  it  remained  for  Abraham 
Lincoln  to  give  it  expression  and  application  in  a  time  when  a 
departure  from  it  would  have  resulted  in  the  dissolution  of  the 
Union.  The  nation  has  never  had  a  firmer  believer  in  the  Con- 
stitution, nor  a  closer  adherent  of  it,  than  Abraham  Lincoln. 
This  and  the  Declaration  of  Independence  afforded  the  basis  of 
his  entire  political  training  and  belief.  Mark  these  his  words: 
"I  have  never  had  a  feeling,  politically,  that  did  not  spring  from 
the  sentiments  embodied  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence." 

When  Lincoln  was  elected  to  the  presidency  he  was  relatively 
little  known  to  the  nation.  To  all  he  was  "the  rail-splitter".  By 
some  he  was  regarded  as  the  teller  of  uncouth  stories.  He  had 
served  in  Congress,  and  his  debates  with  Douglas  had  brought 
him  some  acquaintance  beyond  the  borders  of  his  State.  The 
nation  was  upon  the  brink  of  civil  war  and  consternation  was 
abroad  in  the  land.  What  type  of  man  was  this,  then,  who  had 
been  chosen  to  pilot  the  Ship  of  State  upon  such  an  angry  sea? 
What  would  be  his  policy? 

Conditions  had  become  so  intense,  incident  to  the  question 
of  slavery,  that  a  peace  conference  was  called  in  Washington. 
Delegate  representatives  from  the  North  and  the  South  as- 
sembled at  this  conference.  After  many  months  of  bitter  debate, 
the  members  of  the  conference  had  made  no  progress.  Finally, 
Mr.  Lincoln  arrived  in  Washington,  prior  to  assuming  the  duties 
of  the  Presidency,  and  met  the  members  of  the  conference. 
The  delegates  met  Mr.  Lincoln  with  mingled  misgivings.  So 
much  depended  upon  the  course  he  would  follow  as  President! 
They  were  not  kept  waiting  for  the  truth.  Governor  Rives  of 
Virginia  addressed  this  statement  to  him :  "The  clouds  that  hang 
over  the  Union  are  very  dark.  Everything  now  depends  on 
you."  In  response  the  great  Lincoln  went  directly  to  the  heart 
of  the  subject:  "My  course  is  as  plain  as  a  turnpiked  road.  It 
is  marked  out  by  the  Constitution.  There  is  no  doubt  which 
way  to  go." 

(11) 


When  Lincoln  was  inducted  into  the  office  of  President,  the 
opening  feature  of  his  inaugural  address  was :  "I  hold  that  in 
the  contemplation  of  universal  law  and  of  the  Constitution,  the 
union  of  these  States  is  perpetual.  I  shall  take  care,  as  the 
Constitution  itself  expressly  enjoins  upon  me,  that  the  laws  of 
the  Union  shall  be  faithfully  executed  in  all  the  States."  When 
the  people  heard  these  words,  they  were  inspired  and  believed 
in  him. 

If  there  is  one  who  would  ignore  the  ideals  of  our  America 
or  who  would  remove  the  ancient  landmarks  that  were  set  by  our 
fathers,  let  him  seek  to  destroy  constitutional  government.  I 
know  of  no  surer  course  of  destruction  of  the  Republic  than 
this.  The  Constitution  is  the  anchor  which  holds  the  Ship  of 
State  secure  against  the  threshing  winds  of  time.  Its  strength 
is  reflected  in  the  respect  that  the  people  have  for  law,  and  in 
the  support  that  they  give  to  the  orderly  processes  of  government. 
This  belief  permeated  every  fibre  of  the  being  of  Lincoln.  In 
support  of  it,  he  said: 

"Let  every  American,  every  lover  of  liberty,  every  well-wisher 
of  his  posterity,  swear  by  the  blood  of  the  Revolution  never  to 
violate  in  the  least  particular  the  laws  of  the  country,  and  never 
to  tolerate  their  violation  by  others.  Let  reverence  for  the  law 
be  breathed  by  every  American  mother  to  the  lisping  babe  that 
prattles  on  her  lap;  let  it  be  taught  in  the  schools,  in  the  sem- 
inaries, and  in  colleges ;  let  it  be  written  in  primers,  in  spelling 
books,  and  in  almanacs.  Let  it  be  preached  from  the  pulpits, 
proclaimed  in  legislative  halls,  and  enforced  in  the  courts  of 
justice.  Let  it  become  the  political  religion  of  the  nation,  and 
let  the  old  and  the  young,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  grave  and 
the  gay,  of  all  sexes  and  tongues,  and  colors  and  conditions 
sacrifice  unceasingly  upon  its  altars." 

There  was  never  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  nation  when 
there  was  greater  need  than  now  for  an  impartial  adherence  to 
the  edicts  of  law  and  order.  Upon  nearly  every  hand  we  see 
the  disregard  in  which  the  law  is  held  by  the  people  of  all  classes 
and  conditions.  I  cannot  account  for  this,  unless  it  be  that  the 
multiplicity  and  complexity  of  our  laws  have  become  so  pro- 
nounced^ that  on  the  one  hand  it  is  impossible  for  the  people  to 
comprehend  their  meaning,  and  on  the  other  hand  it  is  impossible 

(  J2  ) 


for  the  officers  of  state  to  enforce  them.  If  this  is  true,  and  I 
believe  it  to  be  so,  it  is  high  time  that  legislative  bodies  should 
retrench  from  their  law-making  proclivities.      [Applause.] 

A  conscientious  understanding  of  the  Constitution  is  well-nigh 
futile  with  the  continual  enactment  of  laws,  some  of  which  are 
a  distinct  departure  from  the  meaning  and  purposes  of  the  Con- 
stitution while  others  serve  only  to  increase  the  number  of  em- 
ployees of  the  State.  If  we  can  get  away  from  this  tendency, 
we  will  have  taken  the  first  step  towards  lower  taxes,  better  law 
enforcement,  and  a  higher  respect  for  law.  Also,  there  will  be 
less  reason  for  the  existence  of  professional  politicians  and  dem- 
agogues, with  their  obnoxious  political  nostrums  that  are  war- 
ranted to  cure  every  ill  to  which  society  falls  heir. 

Dangerous  as  is  the  disrespect  for  laws  that  are  intended  to 
influence  the  social  and  moral  welfare  of  the  people,  it  is  even 
more  hazardous  to  the  national  welfare  that  the  parties  to  indus- 
trial disputes  should  disregard  the  law  and  seek  to  force  their 
issues  by  direct  action.  When  the  parties  to  any  suit  in  which 
the  public  interest  is  involved  refuse  to  bring  their  case  into 
court  to  be  decided  by  judge  or  jury,  the  violations  of  the  rights 
of  life  and  property  that  ensue  are  immediately  subversive  of 
orderly  government  and  strike  at  the  very  foundations  of  the 
Republic. 

Within  a  six  months'  period  we  have  had  two  striking  illus- 
trations of  the  disastrous  effects  that  follow  violations  of  the 
principles  of  law  and  order.  One  of  these  took  place  at  Herrin, 
Illinois,  and  more  recently  another  occurred  in  certain  sections 
of  Arkansas.  Both  of  these  were  the  outgrowth  of  industrial 
strife.  In  the  one  instance,  the  workers  attempted  to  thwart  the 
effort  of  the  mine  owners  to  operate  their  plants,  and  a  large 
number  of  human  lives  was  sacrificed  in  the  endeavor.  In  the 
other  instance,  the  citizens  of  the  community  sought  arbitrarily 
to  punish  certain  striking  railroad  employees,  and  here  again  the 
sacrifice  of  human  life  was  taken  as  a  toll  against  sabotage  and 
destruction  of  property. 

Both  of  these  acts  were  in  direct  violation  of  the  orderly  pro- 
cesses of  government  and  serve  to  prove  the  results  that  inevitably 
follow  after  a  disrespect  for  law.  The  one  effective  way  of 
preventing  such  incipient  acts  of  violence  is  for  public  officials  to 

(13) 


see  that  the  law  is  enforced  vigorously  and  impartially.  In  this, 
I  hold  that  there  is  no  end  to  which  a  duly  constituted  law  en- 
forcement official  may  not  go,  and  the  official  who  does  less  than 
this  violates  his  oath  of  office.      [Applause.] 

Lincoln  said  in  his  day:  "In  a  choice  of  evils,  war  may  not 
always  be  the  worst.  Still,  I  would  do  all  in  my  power  to  avert 
it,  except  to  neglect  a  constitutional  duty."  Had  Lincoln  taken 
any  other  position  than  this,  and  had  he  attempted  to  temporize 
with  a  situation  that  was  in  direct  violation  of  the  purposes  of  the 
Constitution,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  nation  would  have 
been  dismantled  and  the  strength  of  the  Republic  destroyed. 
Conditions  are  not  the  same  to-day  as  they  were  then,  but  the 
principles  of  government  that  he  enforced  are  precisely  the  same. 
The  government  must  be  strong  enough  in  its  position  of  authority 
to  enforce  the  law  and  to  punish  every  violator  of  the  law.  To 
do  less  than  this  is  to  invite  national  decay. 

As  between  the  contending  factions  in  industrial  disputes, 
Lincoln  had  the  vision  by  which  the  remedy  may  be  found  for 
our  present-day  troubles.  He  believed  in  labor  as  the  pursuit 
to  which  the  life  of  every  normal  man  is  ordained.  There  are 
few  questions  to  which  he  made  more  frequent  reference  than  he 
did  to  this.  Upon  one  occasion  he  addressed  a  note  to  Major 
Ramsey,  as  follows:  "My  dear  Sir:  The  lady  bearer  of  this  says 
she  has  two  sons  who  want  to  work.  Set  them  at  it,  if  possible. 
Wanting  to  work  is  so  rare  a  want,  that  it  should  be  encouraged.,, 
Conditions  have  not  changed  much  in  sixty  years.  [Laughter.] 
In  another  instance  he  said:  "If  you  intend  to  go  to  work,  there 
is  no  better  place  than  right  where  you  are.  If  you  do  not 
intend  to  go  to  work,  you  cannot  get  along  anywhere."  And 
again  he  said :    "I  am  always  for  the  man  who  wishes  to  work." 

As  between  the  interests  of  property  and  labor,  he  expressed 
this  wise  opinion :  "I  take  it  that  it  is  best  for  all  to  leave  every 
man  free  to  acquire  property  as  fast  as  he  can.  Some  will  get 
wealthy.  I  don't  believe  in  a  law  to  prevent  a  man  getting  rich, 
it  would  do  more  harm  than  good.  So  while  we  do  not  propose 
any  war  upon  capital,  we  do  wish  to  allow  the  humblest  man  an 
equal  chance  to  get  rich  with  everybody  else.  When  one  starts 
poor  as  most  do  in  the  race  of  life,  free  society  is  such  that  he 
knows  he  can  better  his  condition ;  he  knows  that  there  is  no  fixed 

(14) 


condition  of  labor  for  his  whole  life.  I  am  not  ashamed  to  con- 
fess that  twenty-five  years  ago  I  was  a  hired  laborer  mauling 
rails,  at  work  on  a  life-boat — just  what  might  happen  to  any 
poor  man's  son.     I  want  every  man  to  have  a  chance." 

The  application  of  these  simple  laws  of  personal  conduct 
would  be  sufficient  in  themselves  to-day  to  bring  the  solution  to 
every  recurring  difference  between  employer  and  employee. 
There  must  be  no  violation  of  the  right  of  a  man  to  work. 
This  right  is  inherent  in  the  Constitution.  It  must  not  be 
abridged,  lest  men  dictate  by  their  own  selfish  interests  not  only 
the  conditions  under  which  they  shall  work,  but  the  pay  that  they 
shall  receive.  This  would  create  an  intolerable  condition.  The 
nation  is  suffering  now  from  a  too  high  level  of  wages.  At  a 
time  when  there  is  need  for  the  greatest  economy  of  production 
as  a  means  towards  removing  the  disparity  in  exchange  value 
that  exists  between  the  raw  products  of  the  farm  and  the  finished 
products  of  the  factory,  it  is  a  striking  fact,  borne  out  by  depend- 
able figures,  that  the  established  scale  of  wages  to-day  will  buy 
more  commodities  than  at  any  previous  time  on  record. 

Agriculture  is  the  nation's  basic  industry,  and  upon  the  pros- 
perity of  the  farmer  depends  the  ultimate  prosperity  of  the  people 
who  are  engaged  in  every  other  line  of  endeavor.  So  long  as 
this  high  scale  of  wages  continues,  the  farmer  will  have  to  bear  a 
burden  that  is  economically  unsound,  and  the  delayed  return  of 
post-war  readjustment  will  increase  the  hardships  upon  all.  And 
I  may  say  to  you,  my  friends,  that  we  of  the  Middle  West  are 
feeling  the  impress  of  that  very  condition  to-day.  The  disparity 
in  exchange  value  between  the  articles  that  are  manufactured 
here  and  the  things  that  are  produced  by  the  farmers  in  the 
Middle  West  and  exchanged  for  your  manufactured  articles  is 
too  great,  and  I  recognize  as  the  first  item  that  enters  into  this 
question  of  price  or  economy  is  the  enormous  scale  of  wages 
that  is  being  paid. 

The  farmer,  too,  is  doing  his  utmost  to  rehabilitate  the  nation 
and  bring  about  a  revival  of  normal  prosperity.  He  is  making 
splendid  progress,  and  his  lot  is  not  nearly  so  hard  as  it  has 
been  at  many  other  times  in  the  past.  But  there  is  not  yet  a 
complete  equality  between  him  in  his  labors  and  those  who  toil 
in  other  lines.     A  simple  application  of  the  precepts  of  our  nat- 

(15) 


ional  patron  saint  would  accomplish  wonders  in  remedying  this 
condition. 

Lincoln  was  a  great  man,  but  he  was  not  conscious  of  it.  He 
was  great  because  he  had  the  power  of  correct  analyses  of  human 
problems  and  the  force  of  character  to  support  his  beliefs.  He 
was  partisan,  the  first  great  Republican,  and  he  had  much  to  do 
with  the  origin  of  this  party,  but  he  was  in  no  sense  a  politician. 
Were  he  living  to-day,  he  would  be  ashamed  and  chagrined  by 
the  political  maneuvers  of  many  of  those  in  public  life  who  are 
ignoring  the  national  welfare  in  an  effort  to  promote  their  own 
selfish  interests. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  recognize  that  this  is  a  Republican  organi- 
zation and  you  are  proud,  every  one  of  you,  to  think  upon  the 
things  that  Lincoln  did,  the  things  that  Lincoln  stood  for,  and 
you  recognize  that  Lincoln  adhered  to  the  things  that  are  funda- 
mentally sound  and  true  and  that  have  always  been  the  founda- 
tion for  progress  in  this  country.  The  greatest  era  of  progress 
that  America  ever  knew  was  the  fifty  years  that  followed  the 
Civil  War.  Not  all  of  those  years,  for  some  of  them  were  bad 
years,  but  on  the  whole  it  was  the  greatest  era  of  progress  in 
our  history ;  and  during  that  period  you  recall  that  the  people 
were  not  resorting  to  measures  political  to  lift  them  from  their 
difficulties.  They  were  depending  upon  themselves,  and  all  they 
asked  from  the  Government  was  that  they  be  given  equality  of 
opportunity  and  encouragement  to  exercise  the  initiative  that 
they  then  had. 

In  these  later  years  there  has  come  to  the  fore  an  apparent 
theory  of  progress  that  we  must  legislate  success  and  prosperity 
on  the  people,  whether  they  earn  it  or  not.  And  I  submit  to  you 
that  it  cannot  be  done.  Instead  of  that  we  are  placing  barriers 
and  substantial  barriers  against  progress,  and  we  are  striking  at 
the  very  foundation  of  this  Republic.      [Applause.] 

Progress,  my  friends,  is  not  education.  Progress  is  building 
upon  firm  and  sound  foundations,  and  as  we  are  troubled  to-day 
with  the  problems  that  are  imposed  upon  us  through  this  world- 
wide conflagration,  we  must  recognize  the  burdens  that  rest  upon 
us ;  and  they  must  be  borne  by  you  and  me,  and  they  can  be 
borne  only  by  us  and  not  alone  by  the  Government. 

The   Government  is  only  a  medium  through  which  we  may 

(16) 


exercise  our  initiative.  When  I  think  of  our  national  adminis- 
tration I  recognize  that  not  since  the  time  of  Lincoln  has  any 
administration  ever  come  into  the  White  House  to  find  itself  con- 
fronted with  such  troublous  and  perplexing  problems  as  have 
confronted  our  present  President  of  the  United  States  [applause]  ; 
and  I  say,  and  I  believe  that  you  agree  with  me,  that  that  great 
mind  in  the  White  House,  unmoved  by  the  blare  of  trumpets, 
constantly  adhering  to  fundamental  principles,  is  hewing  away 
on  these  national  problems  along  the  right  line.  Should  he  ap- 
peal to  mere  sentiment?  Should  he  seek  merely  to  be  popular? 
Should  he  adopt  the  practices  of  political  expediency  ?  No !  A 
thousand  times,  No!  I  do  not  know  whether  he  shall  be  re- 
nominated; I  think  he  will.  I  don't  know  whether  the  Repub- 
lican party  will  win  in  the  next  campaign.  But  so  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  that  does  not  trouble  me  nearly  as  much  as  it  troubles 
me  whether  the  Republican  party  is  going  to  adhere  to  sound 
principles  and  struggle  and  fight  for  them,  even  though  they  lose 
the  election,  rather  than  to  submit  to  things  that  must  certainly 
thwart  the  ultimate  purpose  that  we  would  attain.     [Applause.] 

You  look  to  the  West,  and  you  think  of  a  country,  perhaps, 
that  is  torn  with  dissension  and  dissatisfaction,  but  I  will  say  to 
you  that  you  have  painted  before  you  a  picture  that  is  untrue; 
for,  while  we  have  suffered  some  conditions  in  Nebraska  that 
have  been  uncomfortable,  even  as  young  a  man  as  I  am  can  recall 
the  conditions  of  the  early  '90s  when  conditions  were  so  much 
worse  that  there  is  no  comparison  between  then  and  now.  Our 
farmers  have  turned  the  corner  and  they  are  on  their  way  again. 
Their  agricultural  products  have  increased  in  value  fifteen  per 
cent  in  the  last  few  months,  and  while  we  feel  there  is  some 
injustice  there,  it  is  not  to  the  extent  that  we  would  array  that 
great  Central  West  from  which  Lincoln  came  against  any  other 
section  of  this  country.     [Applause.] 

We  know  the  things  for  which  Lincoln  struggled.  We  know 
that  Lincoln  realized  the  bond  of  interdependence  that  existed 
between  the  North  and  the  South,  and  he  recognized  it  to  the 
extent  that  he  would  call  upon  the  people  of  this  country  to  give 
them  support  in  order  that  unity  of  action  might  obtain.  And  it 
was  given.  And  that  is  the  reason  why  you  and  I  sit  comfort- 
ably about  this  banquet  board  to-night  and  praise  our  America. 

(17) 


For  us  to  attempt  to  divide  our  country  into  sections,  or  classes, 
or  creeds  would  be  as  destructive  of  the  purpose  of  America  as 
she  was  founded  by  our  fathers  as  would  have  been  the  division  of 
the  North  and  the  South.  And  whoever  attempts  to  speak  against 
the  West  in  terms  that  would  cause  you  to  believe  that  there  is  a 
class  or  section  conscience  there  that  would  hold  themselves  out 
against  you,  does  not  know  whereof  he  speaks.  For,  in  times  of 
this  nation's  trouble,  all  sections  of  the  nation  arose  as  a  single 
man  and  we  are  just  as  proud  of  them  all  as  we  are  proud  of 
our  patriotic  Nebraskans. 

We  need  party  solidarity.  In  Lincoln's  time  he  was  plagued 
by  those  who  would  subserve  the  national  interests  to  their  own 
advantage,  and  President  Harding  is  being  plagued  by  the  same 
thing  to-day;  not  in  his  cabinet,  but  in  a  co-ordinate  branch  of 
Government  that  has  just  as  great  responsibility  in  bringing 
about  the  restoration  of  normal  conditions  that  we  need  in  this 
country  to-day. 

I  am  a  partisan,  and  I  believe  in  party  responsibility,  and  I 
think  that  everything  that  tends  away  from  it  is  destructive  of 
our  Republican  form  of  Government ;  and  therefore  I  believe 
that  when  a  party  is  in  power  it  is  the  duty  of  those  who  have 
been  elected  through  that  party  to  give  their  adherence  to  the 
principles  that  have  been  enunciated  for  its  conduct  and  which 
constitute  a  part  of  its  program.     [Applause.] 

There  is  but  one  way  to  emulate  the  life  of  Lincoln :  that  is  to 
follow  the  unselfish  and  understanding  course  that  he  marked  out. 
If  we  do  this,  we  may  yet  reverently  breathe  again  the  inspiring 
sentiments  and  everlasting  ideals  that  were  his. 

During  the  short  life  of  Lincoln  he  inculcated  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people  a  patriotism  that  endured  through  the  intervening 
years.  The  threads  of  blue  and  of  gray  were  knit  into  a  com- 
plete fabric  of  national  solidarity.  Then  there  was  no  North, 
no  South,  only  the  bonds  of  union.  How  much  this  has  meant 
to  us,  we  cannot  realize  now.  We  only  know  that  the  call  of 
national  necessity  has  been  heard  and  answered  in  every  section 
of  the  land,  and  the  love  of  Americans  for  their  America  has  been 
measured  again  in  the  terms  of  scarlet  that  ebbed  from  the  hearts 
of  our  choicest  sons. 

Four  years  ago  I  was  called  to  witness  the  most  inspiring  sight 

(18) 


that  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  view.  This  was  upon  the  return 
of  our  boys  from  France.  A  delegation  from  Nebraska  had 
chartered  a  little  boat  and  sailed  out  into  the  harbor  at  New 
York  to  welcome  our  victorious  Eighty-ninth.  The  clouds  hung 
heavy  over  the  harbor.  Finally  a  great  boat — the  Leviathan — 
emerged  from  the  mists.  As  it  drew  towards  our  little  craft,  it 
looked  not  unlike  a  great  mountain  of  khaki.  Finally,  it  came 
near  enough  so  that  the  boys  from  home  could  read  the  banners, 
"Welcome  Home  to  America",  "Welcome  Home  to  Nebraska", 
"Welcome  Home  to  Friends  and  Loved  Ones",  and  a  cheer  went 
up  that  sounded  and  resounded  across  the  harbor.  Then  our 
band  played  "Home  Sweet  Home",  and  out  of  that  cheering 
throng  there  came  a  stillness  as  of  death.  As  I  looked  out  across 
the  scene,  there  stood  the  Goddess  of  Liberty,  tall  and  stark  in 
the  mists  of  the  morning,  and  she  too  seemed  to  be  weeping  for 
the  return  of  her  gallant  sons. 

I  do  not  know,  we  cannot  know,  the  deeper  sentiment  that 
was  in  the  hearts  of  those  men,  but  I  do  know  that  they  took 
up  the  torch  that  fell  from  the  hands  of  the  immortal  Lincoln 
and  insured  for  all  time  that  "a  nation  conceived  in  liberty  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal"  can 
endure.     [Applause.] 

Toastm aster  POWERS.  I  would  like  to  say  to  the  young 
Governor,  in  behalf  of  the  Middlesex  Club,  that  if  he  would  Kke 
to  be  Governor  of  the  old  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  all 
he  has  got  to  do  is  to  take  up  his  residence  on  her  soil.  [Ap- 
plause.] 

The  next  speaker  on  the  list  I  observe  is  a  Unitarian  clergy- 
man. When  I  used  to  be  active  in  the  affairs  of  this  Club  we 
were  a  Baptist  club,  as  I  remember  it  [laughter],  and  we  elected 
as  our  chaplain  the  Reverend  Ashley  Jones  who  came  here  each 
year  for  a  number  of  years  and  preached  to  us  the  real  old 
Baptist  doctrine.  It  was  the  doctrine  of  immersion  in  those 
days.  I  imagine  that  one  of  the  amendments  to  the  Constitution 
has  probably  changed  the  religion  of  the  Club.  [Laughter.]  But 
we  all  remember  with  the  greatest  pleasure  the  Reverend  Ashley 
Jones.  He  was  a  typical  Southerner  and  told  his  stories  in  a 
typical  way.  And  there  was  one  story  that  he  told  the  third 
time  he  came  here,  the  last  time  I  heard  him,  which  has  always 

(19) 


remained  in  my  mind.  I  feel  sure  the  Middlesex  Club  made  an 
excellent  impression  on  the  parson.  Do  you  remember  that  story 
he  told  when  he  rose  to  make  his  last  speech  before  this  Club? 
It  ran  something  like  this : 

Uncle  'Rastus  was  sitting  on  a  doorstep  and  Aunt  Chloe  was 
standing  in  the  door.  The  gate  was  open  and  the  chickens  were 
going  down  towards  the  gate,  and  Uncle  'Rastus  ran  down  and 
closed  the  gate.  When  he  came  back  Aunt  Chloe  said,  "What 
fo'  you  close  dat  gate?  Was  you  'fraid  those  chickens  wouldn't 
come  home?"  And  he  said,  "I  was  afraid  they  would  go  home." 
[Laughter.]  And  then  he  concluded  by  saying:  "Whenever  I 
see  the  gate  of  the  Middlesex  Club  open,  I  always  come  through 
it  because  I  feel  I  am  coming  home."     [Laughter.] 

Now  we  have  changed  our  religion,  and  we  have  taken  up  a 
more  liberal  religion.  I  want  to  say  that  that  is  not  at  all  dis- 
pleasing to  me.  [Laughter.]  My  church  has  always  been  the 
Unitarian  church, — at  least,  my  wife  attends  that  church. 
[Laughter.]  But  I  remember  in  the  old  days  when  I  wanted  to 
hear  a  real  good  sermon  I  used  to  go  up  to  what  I  think  they 
called  Unity  Church  and  listen  to  the  Reverend  Minot  J.  Savage, 
who  was  one  of  the  great  pulpit  orators  of  his  day.  To-night 
we  have  with  us  his  son,  who  is  a  clergyman  in  Worcester,  and  I 
take  great  pleasure  now  in  presenting  to  you  the  Reverend  Max- 
well Savage  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts.     [Applause.] 

Reverend  MAXWELL  SAVAGE 

Mr.  Chairman: 

I  am  going  to  trust  my  watch  to  the  gentleman  on  my  right, 
and  Mr.  Farley  on  my  left,  because  I  am  going  back  to  Wor- 
cester to-night,  especially,  as  there  is  no  after-meeting  on  the 
lower  floor.  [Laughter.]  Whether  you  have  a  room  upstairs 
or  not  I  do  not  know.  [Laughter.]  But  may  I  say  in  begin- 
ning that  if  the  chairman  to-night  lived  in  Worcester  he  would 
not  be  allowed  to  have  his  religion,  like  his  property,  in  his 
wife's  name.     [Laughter.] 

Some  years  ago  I  gave  a  series  of  after-dinner  talks,  or  wan- 
dering talks,  in  the  far-off  city  of  Budapest  and  ever  since  that 
time   I  have  wondered  why  Americans  have  not  adopted  that 

(20) 


plan.  There  was  no  after-dinner  speaking  in  the  literal  sense 
of  the  word,  but  as  soon  as  the  first  course  was  put  on  the  table 
they  began  to  call  on  the  speakers.  I  have  spoken  through  the 
oysters  and  the  fish,  through  the  fish  and  the  roast,  through  the 
roast  and  the  salad,  and  then  people  went  on  eating  and  listened 
or  not  as  they  pleased;  and  by  the  time  the  meal  was  over,  the 
speaking  was  over.  It  was  easier  on  the  listener,  and  so  much 
easier  on  the  speaker,  because  here,  while  you  have  been  eating 
this  goodly  meal  I  have  been  munching  this  coarse  bread,  drink- 
ing as  much  coffee  as  I  could  find  about  me,  and  not  really  been 
able  to  feast  and  fill  myself  as  my  natural  proclivities  would  lead 
me  to  do. 

I  have  no  manuscript.  Perhaps  it  is  too  bad  for  you  that  I 
have  not.  I  have  some  notes,  but  I  have  written  them  so  small 
that  I  am  afraid  I  cannot  see  them,  and  so  I  shall  have  to  ask 
you  to  bear  with  me,  as  my  dentist  said,  for  the  allotted  time 
which  Mr.  Coolidge  gave  me.  I  notice  that,  having  given  me 
this  time,  he  is  not  here.     [Laughter.] 

Now  the  average  minister  of  course  uses  his  text  as  a  diver 
uses  his  springboard  very  often,  to  leap  from  and  never  to  return 
to.  And  like  a  good  many  speakers,  having  leaped  into  the 
stream  of  my  material  I  find  that  I  do  not  swim  very  well  and 
sometimes,  like  some  swimmers,  sink  and  drown  in  the  midst  of 
ideas  that  I  cannot  put  into  adequate  words.  But  I  hope  you 
will  not  sit  and  look  at  me  in  my  drowning  condition  as  a  certain 
longshore  farmer  living  near  me  in  Maine  did  a  few  years  ago. 
The  farmer  ran  down  to  the  shore  and  he  noticed  a  man  tip  over 
in  a  boat  out  in  the  lake.  He  did  not  pay  much  attention  to  him 
and  went  into  the  house,  and  later  on  went  down  to  the  post 
office.  Somebody  said  to  him,  "Well,  your  nephew  was  drowned 
this  afternoon,"  and  the  man  said,  "Pshaw !  I  saw  it  but  I 
thought  it  was  one  of  those  damned  summer  boarders." 
[Laughter.] 

I  hope  you  will  have  more  leniency  and  patience  with  what  I 
want  to  talk  over  with  you  regarding  Lincoln,  and  I  have  taken  as 
my  text  for  my  speech  an  idea  that  came  to  me  out  of  Steven- 
son's "Life  of  Lincoln",  a  new,  one-volume  story  of  his  life  which 
is  a  wonderful  book,  in  which  he  points  out  that  the  great  con- 
tribution which  Lincoln  made  to  government  and  the  activity  of 

(21) 


politicians  was  to  show  the  moral  obligation  not  to  use  power. 
This  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  pacifism.  In  fact,  very  much 
to  the  contrary.  While  Lincoln  recognized  power  he  never  exer- 
cised it  unless  it  were  for  the  fulfilling  of  some  moral  law.  He 
never  resorted  to  power  offhand.  He  was  very  slow  in  using  it 
and  he  trusted  the  conscience  of  the  people  to  work  out  their 
problems,  rather  than  to  have  laws,  the  power  of  government, 
superimposed  upon  them  all  the  time.  And  he  had  little  use 
for  the  growing  popularity  to-day  of  coercion  by  government. 

That  perhaps  was  one  of  his  strongest  attributes,  and  we  find 
it  in  most  of  his  activities,  that  patience,  that  willingness  to 
abide  the  issue  of  circumstances,  that  method  of  letting  people 
work  out  the  thing  for  themselves.  So  that  not  hesitancy,  but 
that  inherent,  quiet  power  of  his  way,  and  to  not  care  so  much 
about  the  outer  form  of  things,  showed  itself  in  most  of  his 
activities.  For  instance,  I  don't  know  how  many  lawyers  there 
are  here  but  in  his  relation  to  the  law  he  was  a  poor  lawyer  in 
so  far  as  technicalities  were  concerned.  He  did  not  care  much 
about  them,  but  he  was  interested  in  law  only  as  it  stood  to  ap- 
proximate, in  the  affairs  of  man,  the  justice  and  the  will  of  God. 
And  that  is  why  he  said  to  his  fellow  lawyers,  "Discourage 
litigation;  there  will  still  be  enough  business!  to  go  around." 
And  we  know  to-day  that  the  best  type  of  lawyer  is  the  man  that 
does  not  drag  litigation  into  court  all  the  time,  but  settles  quietly 
and  reasonably  by  the  use  of  the  quiet  power  of  conscience  on 
the  outside. 

The  same  tendency  showed  itself  in  regard  to  Lincoln  in  the 
matter  of  religion.  In  the  common-sense  view  of  that  word,  he 
was  not  a  Christian  and  did  not  care  for  the  use  of  power  of 
churches.  And  yet  there  is  no  doubt  about  it  that  nobody  on 
earth  since  the  Nazarene  has  been  so  spiritually  and  so  morally 
Christian  in  his  attitude  towards  his  fellow  man.  And  so  he 
loved,  as  he  approached  the  problems  of  his  time,  to  keep  in  the 
midst  of  them  with  the  quiet,  inexorable  power  of  the  natural 
force,  you  might  say,  plus  what  a  natural  force  never  has,  and 
that  is  kindness. 

Now  what  are  our  tendencies  to-day,  in  the  midst  of  our  pro- 
blems? After  all,  are  they  not  summed  up  in  the  word  "char- 
acter"?    Have    not    we    attained    to    a    higher-mindedness    that 

(22) 


wants  things  done  very  quickly  indeed,  rather  than  to  be  patient  ? 
Aren't  we  surprisingly  subservient  under  power  to  make  us  do 
lots  of  things,  forestalling  morality  and  natural  growth  and 
education?  The  impatience  and  the  temper  of  the  time  as  con- 
trasted with  Lincoln's  own  patience  are  fully  manifest,  and  you 
will  recall  that  in  his  own  day  they  called  him  "Father  Abraham". 
The  grown-up  children  of  his  own  time,  feeling  that  he  had  that 
power,  looked  upon  him  as  of  that  rare  type  of  father  who  exer- 
cised such  power  over  his  own  children.  I  wish  I  had  it  over 
my  own  boys,  that  quiet  power  to  command  that  can  bring  the 
right  sort  of  results. 

I  noticed  in  the  Middlesex  Creed  which  was  sent  to  me  one  or 
two  articles  of  faith,  and  hope,  and  perhaps  of  charity,  that  I 
want  to  speak  about  in  passing  to-night,  speaking  of  what  seems 
to  me  is  the  Lincolnian  idea  and  what  our  tendency  is  to-day. 

I  noted,  as  one  article  of  your  creed,  the  belief  in  a  triumphant 
peace.  That  article  must  have  been  written  some  time  ago  for 
there  was  no  triumph,  and  therefore  there  is  no  peace.  I  know 
of  no  situation  in  history  better  discribed  by  the  gentle  sarcasm 
of  Jeremiah  than  the  present  situation.  You  will  remember  that 
Jeremiah  said:  "For  they  have  healed  the  hurt  of  the  daughter 
of  my  people  slightly  by  crying  'peace,  peace',  when  there  is  no 
peace." 

I  know  it  is  not  the  popular  church  point  of  view  at  all,  and 
yet  under  similar  circumstances  to  those  a  few  years  ago  it  was 
the  Lincolnian  point  of  view,  when  Lincoln  saw  that  the  moral 
obligation  not  to  use  power  began  only  after  victory.  We  did 
not  see  that.  The  psychology  of  the  situation  seems  to  me  to  be 
thus  summed  up  in  a  simple  crude  illustration  out  of  ordinary 
life.  It  happens  in  my  church  in  Worcester  there  are  about 
fifty  Boy  Scouts.  Two  of  those  small  devils  about  twelve  years 
of  age  have  been  picking  on  each  other  for  the  last  six  or  seven 
months.  They  have  been  scrapping  whenever  they  came  within 
a  few  feet  of  each  other.  The  Scoutmaster  reported  it  to  me, 
and  I  took  two  pairs  of  boxing  gloves  over  there  two  months 
ago.  And  we  settled  it.  [Applause.]  Nobody  hurt, — you 
know  how  a  small  boy  fights,  with  the  edge  of  his  wrists  more 
than  he  does  with  strong  fist  jabs.  But  one  boy  was  licked.  I 
saw  to  it,  also,  that  the  other  boy  was  licked  by  still  another  boy, 

(23) 


to  avoid  his  being  too  cocky.  But  the  relationship  between 
those  two  boys  since  the  inter-relationship  of  the  two  was  de- 
finitely settled  has  been  that  of  peace,  happiness,  and  even  that 
of  good  will. 

A  few  years  ago  neither  in  the  northwest  of  Europe  nor  in 
the  southeast  did  we  settle  definitely  the  question,  and  the  result 
is  still  cynicism,  bitterness,  and  hate  because  no  nation  knows 
just  what  its  relation  to  the  other  nation  should  be.  Now  under 
similar  circumstances  Abraham  Lincoln  was  importuned  by 
pacifists  and  by  men  believing  in  wonderfully  fine  ideals,  which 
are  good  in  themselves  but  which  grown-up  children  have  no 
more  reached  than  those  boys  in  my  church  have  reached.  Lin- 
coln was  importuned  to  declare  an  armistice  before  the  war  was 
finished,  and  his  reply  was  simply  to  tell  General  Grant  to  hold 
no  conferences  with  General  Lee  unless  it  be  for  the  capitulation 
of  his  army.  In  those  dark  days  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Civil 
War  Lincoln  was  maligned,  cursed  by  pacifists,  cursed  by  Horace 
Greeley,  and  yet  he  nailed  his  colors  and  he  won.  And  he 
destroyed  the  ideals,  and  then  having  destroyed  those  ideals,  in 
victory  there  was  no  vindictiveness  in  his  heart  or  mind,  but  it 
was  victory,  not  vindictive  but  decisive.  And  I  cannot  help  but 
wonder  in  these  days  if  there  would  not  have  been  better  peace, 
better  good-will  and  fewer  of  these  terrific  problems,  if  we  had 
had  a  decision.  If  we  had  followed  out  the  ideal  which  Lincoln 
followed  to  the  bitter  and  then  to  the  sweet  and  put  an  end  to 
indecision. 

Lincoln  was  primarily  a  Nationalist,  you  remember.  He  be- 
lieved that  loyalty,  like  charity,  begins  at  home,  and  that  then  it 
extends  as  far  and  wide  as  man  is  capable  of  having  it  go, — 
and  no  further.  Some  people  whose  ideals  are  so  broad, — I  am 
always  a  little  suspicious  of  those  people  who  begin  by  saying 
that  they  love  all  humanity — I  wonder  if  they  love  their  next- 
door  neighbor.  I  remember  some  years  ago;  taking  a  canoe 
down  the  Colorado  River  from  the  Grand  Canyon  to  Mexico, 
where  the  river  came  down  with  a  great  flood  and  broke  through 
the  bank  and  stretched  all  over  the  country.  We  went  right 
from  the  Grand  Canyon  to  Yuma  and  down  below  there  we 
found  the  river  thirty-six  miles  wide  and  two  inches  and  a  half 
deep.     [Laughter.] 

(24) 


Now  certain  people  who  broadcast  their  sympathies  are  a 
good  deal  like  that  river  below  Yuma.  Lincoln  was  more  like 
the  river  above  Yuma,  and  yet  remember, — and  I  know  I  tread 
on  thin  ice  in  the  Middlesex  Club — he  was  ethically  an  inter- 
nationalist. He  knew  as  he  remarked  more  than  once — I  will  not 
take  the  time  to  quote  it — that  the  ethics  of  the  people  extend 
far  beyond  the  boundaries  of  any  one  country ;  and  although  it 
is  utterly  unfair  to  put  into  the  mouth  of  a  man  not  living  what 
you  think  he  would  say,  still  I  feel  this  much,  that  he  would 
have  no  sympathy  with  a  certain  type  of  mind  in  this  country 
to-day  that  is  well  illustrated  in  its  attitude  of  non-responsibility, 
of  non-ethical  interest  in  world  affairs  for  this  country,  by  my 
three-year-old  son. 

The  other  day  I  came  home  and  being  late  in  the  afternoon 
I  went  into  the  dining  room,  and  there  in  the  middle  of  the  great 
rug  was  this  little  fellow  down  on  his  knees  and  his  elbows,  his 
face  buried  in  his  two  small  fat  hands.  He  usually  greets  me, 
but  he  did  not  move.  And  I  turned  to  the  nurse  and  said, 
"What  is  he  doing  ?"  I  had  walked  all  around  him,  and  made 
more  or  less  noise.  And  she  said,  "He  is  hiding."  And  there 
he  was  hiding  right  in  the  middle  of  the  floor.  That  is  cunning 
in  him,  and  lovable,  but  if  my  twelve-year-old  boy  did  it  I  would 
send  for  the  alienist.  And  yet  certain  people  in  this  country 
think  that  this  country  can  take  that  position,  and  I  don't  believe 
ethically  it  possibly  can. 

Another  article  of  your  creed:  "Stop  the  insidious  growth  of 
bureaucratic  government  and  put  an  end  to  petty  tyranny  of 
manifold  commissions."  And  another:  "Having  fought  to  rid 
the  world  of  Prussianism,  let  us  not  Prussianize  ourselves." 
Now  let  us  define  Prussianism.  It  is  the  clattering  of  the  sword, 
the  jangling  of  arms.  To  me  that  is  merely  one  small  outward 
manifestation  of  an  inner  reality,  which  is  diametrically  opposed 
to  the  reality  of  the  Lincolnian  idea  and  what  I  have  always 
supposed  to  be  the  American  idea.  The  Prussian  idea  is  the 
superimposing  of  the  power  of  Government,  every  day  and  in 
every  way,  on  the  individual.  Now  the  average  modern  German 
that  I  have  met  over  there,  the  average  modern  Russian  that  I 
have  read  about,  and  I  have  met  a  few  of  them,  have  no  concep- 
tion   of    responsible    individual    liberty    coexistent    with    a    free 

(25) 


social  order.  That  is  not  their  fault,  but  they  are  not  our  model 
or  our  pattern.  And  yet,  when  I  look  about  this  country  to-day 
I  sometimes  wonder  if  they  are  not  becoming  our  model. 

This  whole  question,  and  it  is  a  serious  one,  not  for  funny 
stories  after  dinner,  this  whole  subject  it  seems  to  me  is  a  matter 
as  to  where  you  find  your  sanctions  for  conduct,  and  as  to  where 
you  are  going  to  touch  the  people —  and  particularly  your  young 
people  in  this  country — as  to  where  they  are  to  find  their  sanc- 
tions for  conduct. 

Look  over  history.  Long  ago  it  was  the  church.  You  could 
put  your  conscience  in  the  care  of  the  church  and  there  you 
found  your  sanctions  for  conduct.  Read  the  book  of  Benjamin 
and  see  how  he  carried  that  out.  At  another  time  it  was  the 
State.  And  then  I  learned  history  after  this  fashion,  that  begin- 
ning at  about  the  Reformation,  it  began  to  be  the  individual  that 
you  found  your  sanctions  for,  and  the  conduct  within  yourself, 
not  in  any  outside  group,  either  religious  or  civic;  and  I  wonder 
where  that  idea  is  going  to,  to-day,  in  this  country. 

We  look  around  and  see  that  many  people  have  lost  those 
sanctions  for  conscience,  and  they  are  milling  at  night.  I  have 
seen  the  animals  mill  at  night,  when  men  had  to  ride  around  to 
keep  them  quiet,  not  knowing  what  would  come  next.  And  so 
thousands  of  people  are  milling  to-day.  They  have  lost  their  old 
artificial  sanctions  of  conduct,  and  they  don't  realize  that  the 
sanctions  for  conduct  which  Lincoln  found  are  in  the  nature  of 
things  and  in  the  nature  of  man.  So  we  see  many  people  to-day 
living  out  the  logic  of  Paul, — Let  us  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry, 
because  after  all  there  are  no  real  sanctions  for  the  great  ideals. 
And  you  find  thousands  and  thousands  of  other  people, — I  call 
them  trellis  people.  They  have  no  stalk  of  their  town,  they  are 
like  a  vine,  they  have  to  have  some  support.  They  have  never 
grown  any  big  roots  or  any  strong  trunk,  so  that  they  can  stand 
on  their  own  hind  legs.  These  people  are  all  about  us  to-day. 
These  people  are  forever  organizing,  forever  asking  for  associ- 
ation, forever  seeking  to  put  crutches,  moral  and  civic  crutches, 
under  the  shoulders  of  the  people  of  the  day. 

Lincoln  was  right,  it  seems  to  me,  in  saying  that  the  State  had 
the  right  to  do  so  and  so,  as  long  as  it  did  not  run  afoul  of  the 
charter    of    liberties.      And    he    asked,    as    you    will    remember, 

(26) 


"Must  a  government  be  too  strong  for  the  liberties  of  its  people  ?" 
And  the  answer  to-day,  resounding  all  over  this  country  is, 
"Yes."  A  great  number  of  people  that  I  run  across,  as  I  wander 
over  this  country,  seem  to  put  their  hope  of  salvation  in  legis- 
lation. By  shifting  the  affairs  of  men  from  the  realm  of  con- 
science, where  Lincoln  would  have  left  them,  over  into  the  realm 
of  law,  they  have  put  their  hope  of  salvation  in  legislation. 
And  you  and  I  know  very  well  that  whenever  anything  be- 
comes a  law  in  this  country,  how  we  treat  it.  [Laughter.] 
Conscience  is  no  longer  to  be  found. 

This  hurry,  this  impatience,  this  wanting  to  have  things  done 
overnight  reminds  you  of  Lincoln's  remark  to  his  law  partner: 
"Billy,  you  are  not  to  be  rampant  and  excited."  And  these 
people  who  seek  to  lead  us  by  the  nose  in  the  way  of  morals 
and  education  and  all  the  rest,  it  seems  to  me  are  too  rampant, 
too  excitable.  I  find  them  in  the  pulpit,  men  aptly  described 
by  a  friend  of  mine  as  amateur  economists ;  I  find  them  among 
politicians,  I  find  them  among  both  professional  and  amateur 
reformers.  There  is  a  parable  that  many  a  reformer  to-day 
could  well  read  and  learn,  a  legend,  that  represents  a  statesman 
coming  to  the  old  philosopher,  Confucius,  and  asking  him  the 
best  system  of  government.  And  the  statesman  said  to  Con- 
fucius, "Do  you  see  my  teeth?"  And  Confucius  replied,  "You 
no  longer  have  any."  And  the  statesman  said,  "Can  you  see  my 
tongue?"  And  Confucius  replied,  "Naturally,  because  you  are 
talking  with  it."  "So,  you  see,"  said  Li  Hung  Chang,  "my 
teeth  which  were  hard  are  gone,  while  my  tongue  which  was 
soft  survived."  Your  rigid  laws  which  were  substantial  will 
tumble.     Your  modern  philosophy  will  survive. 

For  several  years  I  was  chairman  of  the  Case  Committee  of 
the  Associated  Charities,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  the  last  Court 
of  Appeals  in  many  cases.  I  had  a  very  hard  case  there  which 
had  been  on  the  books  of  the  Charities  for  years.  A  young 
visitor  came  one  day  and  said  that  she  would  like  to  do  some 
work  in  charity,  so  I  gave  her  this  very  hard  case.  She  went 
to  them  down  the  dark  alley,  and  knocked  on  the  door  of  the 
negro  shack,  and  there  stood  a  broad-shouldered  woman,  a 
worthless  husband,  and  seventeen  pickaninnies,  and  said  to  her, 
"Mandy,  I  have  come  to  put  you  on  your  feet."     And  Mandy, 

(27) 


with  native  wit,  said,  "Yes,  Miss,  but  who  is  going  to  keep  me 
there?"  [Laughter.]  She  had  been  put  on  her  feet  about 
fifteen  times,  had  grown  no  leg  muscles  and  was  unable  to  stand 
on  her  own  feet.  And  so  this  superimposing  of  all  sorts  of  laws 
for  our  manners  and  morals,  and  our  way  of  running  ourselves, 
is  putting  us  on  our  feet  perhaps,  but  are  we  going  to  stay  there, 
and  who  will  keep  us  there?  Nobody,  according  to  Lincoln  or 
according  to  the  American  way,  excepting  ourselves,  by  the 
slower  process  of  education  from  the  inside  out  towards  the 
circumference.  And  yet,  as  I  say,  we  run  about  in  a  hurry 
seeking  to  establish  a  sort  of  group  morality,  which  I  beg  you  to 
realize  would  always  undermine  the  individual  morality. 

My  time  is  almost  up,  but  may  I  say  that  with  all  this  going 
on,  with  this  tendency  to  the  wholesale  rather  than  the  enduring 
retail  work  which  is  the  work  that  lasts,  with  this  tendency  to 
get  well  quick  and  get  rich  quick,  to  get  government  quick,  to 
get  civic  righteousness  quick,  we  need  to  realize,  looking  over 
history  and  the  method  of  Lincoln,  that  the  long-time  game  has 
always  been  the  moral  game,  it  has  always  been  the  game  that 
endures.  So  we  have  all  these  problems  that  you  gentlemen 
know  of,  as  well  as  I  do,  and  it  seems  a  pity  to  me  at  times  that 
the  foreground  of  life  at  such  a  time  as  this  is  cluttered 
with  all  sorts  of  people  who  feel  that  they  must  express  their 
own  souls,  whether  their  souls  are  worth  expressing  or  not, 
people  that  have  mental  adenoids,  you  might  say,  rather  than 
brains,  and  that  are  thinking  with  their  circulation  rather  than 
their  brains.  People  are  putting:  in  the  place  of  reason,  the 
impulse,  with  the  idea  that  so  long  as  you  assert  yourself, 
whether  it  is  worth  anything  or  not,  you  are  contributing  some- 
thing to  society.  So  we  see  these  people,  some  with  minds 
so  shut  that  no  idea  can  get  in  and  some  with  minds  so  open 
that  nothing  can  stay  in;  and  it  seems  to  me  in  closing  that  it 
might  be  wise  for  us,  that  it  might  be  wise  for  any  party  that 
seeks  to  carry  on  the  reins  of  government  wisely  in  this  country, 
to  insist  as  the  good  Governor  says,  no  matter  what  it  costs, 
upon  more  self -direction,  more  self-responsibility,  and  more  self- 
control  rather  than  resort  to  this  blind  Prussian  institutionalizing 
of  every  single  thing  in  our  midst. 

You  are  not  going  to  root  out  evils,  you  are  not  going  to  plant 

(28) 


the  good  wheat,  merely  by  changing  the  outward  form.  Men  can 
only  slowly  and  surely  be  converted  to  any  real  sense  of  appreci- 
ation, to  hold  dear  and  appreciate  individual  liberty,  coexistent 
with  ethical  social  order,  as  Lincoln  appreciated  it  and  held  it, 
whose  loyalty  to  it  began  at  home  and  became  more  than  national. 
You  cannot  force,  you  cannot  forestall  the  growth  of  citizenship, 
but  you  can  remove  the  obstacles  and  trust  the  people  to  grow 
to  the  occasion  as  Lincoln  did.  Problems  now  and  then  are  not 
problems  of  external  force,  but  of  inner  ideas,  and  of  character; 
and  there  is  no  better  character  for  us  to  follow  than  Lincoln 
who  was  obedient  all  his  days,  no  matter  what  excitement  might 
have  been  around  him,  to  the  slow,  divine  growth  of  nature. 
So,  let  us  remember,  that  he  is  free  who  is  willingly  followed 
by  free  men.  He  is  free  who  is  followed  by  free  men,  men 
who  are  free  politically  and  morally  and  are  of  their  own  con- 
science glad  and  free  to  serve  and  to  obey.     [Applause.] 

Toastm aster  POWERS.  I  feel  sure,  gentlemen,  that  you 
would  not  forgive  me  if  I  did  not  give  you  an  opportunity  to 
hear  a  few  words  from  a  great  soldier.  The  Inspector  General 
of  our  Army  in  France,  a  soldier  who  has  been  decorated  in 
many  orders,  and  who  has  come  to  Massachusetts  to  this  Area 
as  the  commander  of  this  territory  in  which  we  live.  And  so 
I  present  to  you  for  a  few  words,  Major  General  Andre  Brewster, 
of  the  United  States  Army.     [Applause.] 

Major  General  ANDRE  BREWSTER,  U.S.A. 

Mr.  Toastmaster,  Gentlemen  of  the  Middlesex  Club: 

I  feel  that  I  am  in  the  house  of  my  friends.  I  have  eaten  their 
salt,  and  the  words  that  can  best  come  from  me  are  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  rather  than  the  top  of  my  head.  But  my 
head  and  heart  lines  cross  and  give  birth  to  expressions  of  great 
gratitude  and  appreciation  of  your  kind  hospitality  and  your  very 
kind  reception,  and,  Mr.  Toastmaster,  your  very  kind  and  gracious 
words  in  introducing  me. 

After  the  eloquent  addresses  you  have  heard  to-night  you  will 
not  expect  many  words  from  a  simple  soldier,  who  is  not  used  to 
speaking.  There  are  probably  two  hundred  men  present  here 
who  make  very  good  speeches,  and  I  can  say  with  great  humility 

(29) 


I  would  rather  try  to  be  guided  in  action  and  in  conduct  by  the 
utterances  of  our  immortal  Lincoln  than  to  make  a  futile  attempt 
to  imitate  him  in  oratory. 

I  feel,  gentlemen,  that  the  Army  is  in  the  hands  of  its  friends, 
Republican  or  Democratic,  and  what  you  have  done  to  us,  first 
with  one  hand  and  then  the  other,  leaves  very  little  of  us  any- 
how. [Laughter.]  I  thank  you  again  for  your  great  kindness 
to  me.     [Applause.] 

Toastm aster  POWERS.  Gentlemen,  that  closes  the  cere- 
monies. I  wish  you  all  good-night.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that 
if  any  of  your  presiding  officers  are  ill,  or  an  accident  happens 
to  any  of  them  in  the  next  forty  years,  just  send  for  me. 
[Applause.] 


(30) 


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